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“Actually…” Kai tried to say, but his boss cut him off again.
“I have a very good reason.” Sandra stood up slowly. “That reason is I’m the largest donor here by an order of magnitude, and I have been for three decades.”
“Your husband,” I said.
She whipped her head around so fast it was a wonder she didn’t get whiplash. “Excuse me?”
“Your husband, Richard Trout, is the largest donor here,” I explained. “He’s been making contributions since 1990. And I believe you took over the management of his estate when you got married in… 2015?”
It was the wrong thing to say, and I knew it immediately. Not because Sandra became angry. But because she became calm. Her face went completely blank as if her operating system was rebooting. Like a panther becoming deadly still when locking onto its prey.
“The wedding was 2016,” August quickly corrected. “I was there, of course. Lovely ceremony. Amazing crab-puffs. But what matters is these grant requests.”
He gestured at me, and I braced myself for a reprimand. Just like when he told me to be back by one o’clock when I had my doctor’s appointment.
“Ginny here is one of the hardest workers we have at the foundation. Whatever she recommends, I trust completely. But I’m sure we can find a way to make everyone happy here.” He put a hand on Sandra’s back. “Speaking of making people happy, why don’t I treat you to lunch at Martin’s while your assistant and Ginny work out the details of those grants?”
“Martin’s would be lovely.” She reached down and squeezed Kai’s shoulder tightly. “Make sure everything is taken care of, Kai. I don’t want to return to the office and find out we aren’t getting the proper appreciation here.”
Her soulless gaze passed over me without really seeing, and then she and August left together. Michael took a deep breath and clapped his hands together.
“Why don’t I sit with you and we can figure all of this out?”
Michael, Kai, and I sat in my office for the next hour, with the weight of two massive secrets looming over us.
45
Kai
I showed up at Ginny’s apartment that evening with an awkward smile on my face. “So. Today was… interesting.”
She let me in and immediately handed me a glass of wine. “Tell me about it. When you, me, and Michael went through all the grants… That was the most uncomfortable hour of my life.”
I took a long sip of wine. It was tart and fragrant. “I tried to act like everything was fine. I’ve known Michael for two years now through Sandra Trout, and I was afraid he would know that something was wrong.” I chuckled. “Can you imagine if yourbossfound out? He would never look at you the same.”
Ginny got a funny look on her face. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“Did you come up with a solution?” I asked. “To the grants issue.”
She nodded. “Michael had a good idea. He and two other members of the finance team put aside their tasks and joined me this afternoon. Together, we went through every single pending grant in the queue. Knocked all of them out. That way Sandra’s didn’t unfairly go out ahead of the rest, but the others still got done first.”
“That’s a creative solution. Sandra will be happy.” I crossed my arms, taking care not to spill any wine. “Although I’m not sure it will make up for what happened in your office today.”
“It’s fine,” Ginny said. “I emailed her, apologized, and sent her a confirmation about all her grant requests. That should shut her up.”
I sighed. “Ginny, you don’t understand. You shouldn’t be making an enemy of Sandra. She is, quite literally, psychotic.”
“And yet you work for her,” she pointed out. It felt like an accusation.
“If I knew what I know now, I never would have taken this job. But it’s too late. I’ve been there two years now.”
“You could always quit if you hate it so much.”
“Idohate it,” I replied. “But it pays extremely well.”
“So does your OnlyFans hustle.”
“That pays fine. Sure. But I don’t make as much as you. It’s definitely not enough for me to quit my somewhat-stable day job. Besides, if I quit, Sandra would take it personally. She would make my life a living hell.”
